Life is good

With my husband sleeping upstairs, I elected not to play chant while meditating this morning. But I could still hear Ana Hernandez singing "Om Namah Shivaya" in my head, and my sit time was immeasurably enriched and cooled by that.

In the end, today's meditation felt the way this photo makes me feel: calm, clear, directed, steady, and very present. It helps that I woke up this morning with a new idea for a creative project in my head; helps also that, as he continues writing during his time at the monastery, Henri Nouwen's words in Genesee Diary are becoming more spacious and self-accepting; more open to the connectedness of life. And it also helps that we had a truly marvelous dinner with friends last night, all food fresh from their garden and cooked to perfection.